Our mission and impact so far

Trust for Learning is a philanthropic partnership supporting the expansion of publicly-funded programs aligned with the principles of ideal learning environments. Over more than a decade, we’ve supported impact in learning environments and the larger policy environments that influence them.  In our last three-year cycle (2020 – 2022), we set ambitious impact goals and met or exceed the majority of them, learning with our partners along the way.

In our work to support learning environments, we’ve funded educator development efforts which will reach more than 40,000 educators per year. We have also given grants to twelve partners to transition their Head Start, early Head Start, and public Pre-K programs to ideal learning approaches.

We have also played a role in shaping local and national policy environments with recent partner successes in Colorado, Nebraska, and Maryland. Our network of hundreds of field leaders has come together to advocate and reach millions of people through media and storytelling.

For the last three years, we have focused our efforts on movement building, Head Start, policy, networks of practice, and educator pathways. Our next three-year cycle will be guided by what we have learned.

Theory of Change

Learn about our new theory of change

All of our work is guided by the principles of ideal learning environments and our commitment to racial equity and inclusion.

Our new theory of change centers young children, families, and educators.

We work to support them in their learning environments and by shaping policy environments. Over more than a decade, we have learned that we are most successful when we do three things in tandem...

Learn more
Theory of Change